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Tuesday, 21 January 2014

Skin Care Love-In - The Daily Edition

I have a confession...Until recently (by that i mean the last 6 months) I would always use face wipes to remove my makeup *cringes* and not very well might I add...if at all! Yeah I don't feel much better after that haha!Anyhoos, within the last 4-6 months I have become a self confessed skin care junkie! I seriously cannot get enough of the stuff and as you are about to see, I have quite a lot...according to my mum anyway.I'm going to start by going through my basic morning routine then my evening additions and substitutes.So in the mornings, I never used to cleanse my face apart from giving it a quick rinse in the shower. This is what my new routine looks like at the moment (thanks to the goddess that is Caroline Hirons - her blog is here). Hope you've got a cup of tea ready!

My current cleanser of choice is the Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean 3-in-1 Wash Off Deep Purifying Cleanser available from Boots for just £6. I had been using a gel cleanser in the morning up until Christmas but that has since been relegated to my gym bag (it's antibacterial and I get a bit sweaty ewww). I just rub this straight onto my skin for about 30 seconds and remove with a clean flannel soaked in warm water. This makes my skin feel really clean and refreshed first thing and has a really soft scent that reminds me of fruit yoghurts that wakes me up.Next up is the REN Clarifying Toning Lotion available from M&S and SpaceNK for £18. This is an exfoliating toner which is best suited to oily and combination skins, helping to remove dead skin, unclog pores and reduce oiliness. It's also antibacterial so it aids in preventing breakouts too. I noticed an amazing difference in my skin after using this for only 2 weeks. It's still not perfect but we're on the right track now and I no longer hate my skin so we both win :) Apparently it can make your skin feel a bit tingly the first few times you use it but I didn't get any. I got this bottle at the start of December and I use it twice a day so it's lasted me really well. The toner can make your skin feel a little dry afterwards so I like to follow it up with a spritz of La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water which is available in a mini version of 50g for £4 or the full size 150g for £7.50 from Boots. I just let this sink into my skin itself whilst I brush my teeth.I can get quite a few spots of cystic acne along my jawline nowadays. My blemishes (which used to spring up anywhere) have reduced hugely since I started using this routine so unfortunately I can't pinpoint exactly what has helped but without these next two products I feel I'd still be back in that dreaded teenage 'pizza face' phase blergh.La Roche-Posay Effaclar A.I. Targeted Breakout Corrector (£9.50 from Boots) is a beautifully light creamy gel that is pretty self explanatory. I apply it all along my jawline as well as on individual pimples to prevent any more horrors erupting throughout the day.La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo (currently £11.62 in Boots) - are you sensing a theme here? - is now one of the products I don't think I'll ever be able to live a normal life without. As opposed to the targeted corrector mentioned above, the duo seems to be a cult product within the oily skinned afficionados. I first tried this as a tester and with not using it for about 1 week after it was finished I could notice the texture of my skin slipping back to its terrible ways. I apply this all over my face and I find it help to smooth out my skin and unclogs my pores. It has to be noted thought that the whole Effaclar range can be very drying so it isn't recommended for anyone with dry skin.A recent holy grail addition to my routine that I had been meaning to try for quite some time is the much lauded Hydraluron by Indeed Labs. It is a bit of a card melter at £24.99 (I was lucky enough to get it on offer from Boots but they do have a mini sampler set that contains two of their other products more suited for anti-ageing that is a bit cheaper if you want to try it out) but it is AMAZING! The concept is that it contains ultra-high quality hyaluronic acid which can hold 1000 times it's own weight in water. You only have to use a tiny amount all over your face before your moisturiser and it soaks up any water that is in your moisturiser and holds it beneath the surface of your skin affectively plumping up your skin and keeping it hydrated for longer. This has been amazing for me because although I have oily skin it is also dehydrated (not to be confused with dry by the way) and I've noticed a difference in the smoothness and radiance of my skin since I introduced this.At the moment I'm rotating between two daytime moisturisers. The first is No7 Protect and Perfect Intense Day Cream. I'm expecting you've heard of the serum of the same range (unless you're outwith the UK that is) and I bought this as part of a set in the Boots sale - I won't go into the whole details of the set...this post is long enough! It's basically an anti-wrinkle moisturiser that is aimed at those of us lucky enough to still be in our late 20's. Anti-ageing creams can be a bit rich for oily skins but this one is really light and leaves my skin feeling refreshed and glowing.The final item in my daytime routine ('Finally!' I hear you cheer) is my second moisturiser in rotation. The Rodial Glamtox Day is again an anti-ageing moisturiser that I received in the January edition of my Birchbox. It contains micro-injected hyaluronic acid spheres and myrrh extract to hydrate and reduce expression fine lines. This is another lovely feeling cream that is surprisingly light for being anti-ageing and absorbes into my skin amazingly. Luckily I got this as a sample but I might just keep it in my mind for when my purse is in better shape and I don't need to money to buy important things...like food (available from SpaceNK for £75 for 50ml - wowzers!)Now onto my evening additions and substitutes...

If I've been wearing makeup - which is most days to be honest - I double cleanse to make sure every scrap of makeup is off of my face.I'll start off by removing my eye makeup and the bulk of my foundation etc using L'oreal Paris Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution (normally retails around the £4.99 mark but it's often on offer in Boots, Superdrug and supermarkets). This is a water-like solution that is amazing at removing makeup as you just need to hold it on your eyes for about 5-10 seconds and it swipes off most eye makeup in one go. The only downsides I think is the bottle is a little awkward and it can sting the eyes a bit if you have too much on the cotton pads.My second cleanse (single if it's been a makeup free day) is the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm (£21) which I use in place of the Soap and Glory cleanser. This is a solid balm that looks a little bit like a candle but you only need a small amount and when you massage it onto your face it transforms into a smooth oil. I think it's amazing at dissolving any mascara that might be left on my eyes since it's hard for me to tell with having naturally black lashes. I remove with the same flannel I use in the morning (that one is pretty clean anyways) soaked in hand hot water. After using it my skin feels incredibly clean and smooth. This is followed by my REN toner, LRP thermal water, and LRP effaclar targeted breakout and Duo that I use in the mornings. Before applying my evening serum and moisturiser I have recently started using the No7 Protect and Perfect Intense Eye Cream that was also in the set I bought in the Boots sale. I like to use this before my moisturiser to make sure it actually manages to get into the skin around my eyes rather than sitting on top of other creams.That No7 set is getting a lot of use! Next up is the No7 Protect and Perfect Intense Serum. This is a much richer serum than the Hyraluron that I use in the mornings. Admittedly I don't have any wrinkles or fine lines bar my smile lines so I probably don't need to be using this many anti-ageing products but it doesn't hurt to start early if your skin agrees with it right?The final step is - guess what? - No7 Protect and Perfect Instense Night Cream. I have been thinking about finding a more hydrating moisturiser that is suited to my skin type but I thought I might as well try the whole range out as the set was cheaper than the serum alone.So that is my ENTIRE skin regime for both morning and evening...well done if you're still here - you can go lie down in a minute. Maybe this post has given you some ideas of things that might work for your own skin, and if you have any suggestions of products I might like I welcome you with open arms into the world of skin care nutheads *kisses*.